I ​was speaking to a woman the other day, when she brought up the latest round of Black Lives Matter protests that are sweeping the St. Louis region. “Everything was quiet, and now this” she said, with an air of disdain in her voice. I was tempted to explain it to her, but in the context of the business I was trying to conduct, I let it go.

You may not have heard, but St, Louis is again the focus of daily protests by BLM activists. This time, the catalysts was the not guilty verdict of a white (now former) St. Louis police officer, Jason Stockley, who had been accused of murdering Anthony Lamar Smith, a young black man, and then planting a gun on Smith to cover it up. Here’s the condensed version of the incident: Stockley and his partner pulled Smith over, there was a confrontation in which Smith fled the scene in his car. Stockley perused the car and was heard on camera saying, “Going to kill this motherfucker, don’t you know it.” Less than a minute later he killed Smith, claiming Smith had a gun. Somehow the gun contained no DNA from Smith, but did have DNA from Stockley. During the incident Stockley violated a dozen or so STL police procedures and rules, including brandishing a non-police issue AK-47, (which he had been warned not to carry when on duty), and mishandling evidence, (taking his gloves off to retrieve the gun, after retrieving something from the squad car). Oh, and his partner pleaded the fifth and refused to testify in his partners trial. The whole thing stunk of murder and cover up, but justice system being what it is, Stockley was acquitted. Thus, the new explosion of protests over the past three weeks. Although the first weekend of protests had a few instances of vandalism (broken windows), and some episodes of rocks and stones being thrown at police officers, the protests this time have been peaceful, causing none of the widespread destruction we saw three years ago. The protests have also been more disciplined and strategic, taking place in trendy upscale neighborhoods in the city, shopping malls in St. Louis County, and even white flight havens like St. Charles.​

Black Lives Matter protesters on the trendy, upscale Central West End neighborhood.

Meanwhile, regional political leaders, the local press, and many white people reacted with astonishment that our unresolved issues have once again resurfaced in the form of social unrest. “How could this happen again?’, and “this isn’t fair” they whine. Except, it is fair, because we failed, as a region, to deal with the issues raised by the Ferguson Uprising. Before the Michael Brown shooting in 2014, we could pretend we didn’t know how bad relations were between poor black communities and the various municipal police departments, but not any more. ​ The Justice Department investigation laid out a clear and undeniable pattern of civil rights violations by police of black citizens, who’s findings we have largely ignored. Missouri’s Governor put together the obligatory “blue ribbon” panel to study racial disparity in the region, “the Ferguson Commission”. It’s findings and recommendations were also largely ignored, and are now gathering dust on the shelf of indifference. Other than making a few minor weeks to the predatory municipal court system in St. Louis County, nothing has been done to stop the abuse that our black friends and neighbors are subjected to by the police and our “justice’ system. We have all failed here in St. Louis, me included, to make fighting institutionalized racism a priority. Our state legislature was too busy loosening guns laws, and the city was preoccupied with begging the Rams to stay in town. St. Louis made the fatal mistake of thinking the unrest was “the problem”, not a symptom of our inability to come to grips with systemic racism. No one in this town would deny that there is a deep racial divide, but many are content to pretend, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that this divide does not infect law enforcement. How deep is this racial divide? The members of the St. Louis Police Department have two representative bodies, the official police union (the SLPOA), and the Ethical Society of Police, an organization formed by black police who believe the official police union does not represent their interests. By the way, the Ethical Society of Police called for Jason Stockley to be convicted of murder.

The Missouri Senate has passed a massive tax cut, (don't get excited, it's not for you), and the legislation will now go to the Governor. So who gets a big tax cut? Your boss! If your boss owns the company and is paid directly though profits he'll get a 50% tax cut on his income taxes. If you boss doesn't get paid that way, don't worry, he can cook the books so he qualifies. Also, the company you work for will have their tax rate go from 6.25% to 3.25.% That's close to a 50% cut, woo hoo! So what do you get? If you a working stiff your income tax rate will go from 6% to.... 5.5%. That's something like an 8% tax cut. If that doesn't seem like much, don't worry, you will get something else: crappier roads, underfunded schools, longer waits at the DMV. You see, this plan will pretty much bankrupt the state, costing it $700 million every year once the plan is in full effect.

Why are we doing this? Because we have to keep up with Kansas. You see, Kansas enacted an even more radical tax cut plan last year, so we have to do the same (I can hear my mother saying "If Billy jumped into the lake, would you?"). So far, all the Kansas plan has done is throw that state into a budgetary crisis as funding for schools, roads and everything else dries up. The Kansas tax plan was supposed to bring businesses and jobs to the state, but that hasn't exactly happened. The resulting budget mess has gotten so bad that the architect of the plan, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback's approval rating has fallen to 19 point in the last year, to 36%. For a republican governor in a hard core republican state like Kansas, that's pitiful. The same poll showed President Obama getting a higher approval rating of 38%, IN KANSAS!

I was raised in Wichita, Kansas, so I hear from relatives how thing are going there. One of my brothers is a teacher there, and he tells me that as a cost saving measure, Kansas has closed down schools for children with behavioral problems, and dumped those kids into the regular class rooms, making it nearly impossible to teach. I hope all those businesses that aren't actually coming to Kansas don't expect educated workers.

Missouri legislators say it will be different here, in part because the tax cuts will be fazed in over a five year period. So don't go making any plans for spending that two or three dollar a week tax cut you might be getting just yet.

So to sum up the tax cut plan. A BIG tax cut for your boss, a tiny one for you, crappier state government, and we get to be more like Kansas.

Its that time again, Ameren Missouri, (which supplies electricity for most of the St. Louis metro area), is requesting another rate increase. This time Ameren is asking for a 15% increase, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. That would mean a $14 increase in the average residential customers monthly bill. Ameren says the increase is needed to pay for infrastructure improvements, rising fuel costs and other expenses. The increase will have to be approved by the PSC, the Missouri Public Service Commission. The process will involve public hearings, at which consumers can voice their concerns, and a review by the under funded PSC of documents Ameren Missouri will submit to prove that it needs the rate increase. If the past few years are any guide, Ameren will receive between 60 and 70% of it's request, which would result in a rate hike in the 9 to 10% range. Ameren and the PSC know this going into the approval process. That process has become a charade in which Ameren inflates it's request so it can get what it wants. In the end, the PSC will claim that it trimmed the rate request down to protect consumers and Ameren will pretend to be upset that it didn't get all of the increase it asked for. Since 2007, Ameren's electric rates have increase 31%. The new rate, when (not if) it is approved, will likely push that to 40% in rate increases over the past 5 years. Not bad in a poor economy when energy consumption has been relatively flat. I'm just glad that Ameren gets most of their energy from "cheap coal". I'd hate to see how much we would pay if they were using those expensive renewable energy sources.

Tomorrow there will be special election to fill County Assesor Jake Zimmerman's old Missouri house seat in the 83rd district (located in north central St. Louis County), and the race for his replacement is getting dirty in the past few days. The race for the 83rd district pits Democrat Jeff O'Connell against Tracy McCreery, another Democrat running as an independent and Republican Patrick Brennan. O'Connell, a labor official and former Overland City Council member has cast McCreery, a former aide to state Senator Joan Bray, as a spoiler who will split the democrat vote and help republicans take the seat. A recent campaign mailing by O'Connell claims that "A vote for Tracy McCreery or Patrick Brennan is a vote for the Tea Party." Those are strong words from one progressive democrat to another. Today, one day before the election, the dirt began to fly. An attack ad from the Missouri Republican State Committee paints McCreery as an Obama clone. It does not endorse Republican Patrick Brennan. Also arriving today is a prize piece of campaign slime; an ad that appears to be an attack ad from Tracy McCreery. Seen above, it pictures the three candidates: McCreery is smiling in color, O'Connell frowns in blurry black and white, Brennan is also in black and white, but it's a much better picture. The captions below the pictures read: Tracy McCreery is a progressive candidate and former aide to Senator Joan Bray. She's been endorsed by recognized progressive groups like PROMO PAC- a gay and lesbian rights group, NARAL, Planned Parenthood Votes, and Women's Political Caucus of Metro St.Louis. Jeff O'Connell is a career politician and former member of the Overland City Council. He's also the business agent for a local union.Republican Patrick Brennan is a former union construction member who embraces the principles of the "Tea Party". He lives in Overland with his wife and daughter.That last part give the scam away. "He lives in Overland with his wife and daughter"? Why would an attack ad against O'Connell and Brennan mention that? Hell, the ad doesn't even mention McCreery's husband of 17 years. So what gives? A quick look on the back answers that question:

Yes, that's right. The ad is a trick meant to look like a pro McCreery attack ad. In reality, it is a republican party trick to divide the democrat vote. This may be the most deceptive piece of garbage some voters have ever recieved, and I suspect it comes very close to violating the few campaign rules that still exist in this state. Chris Otto

Being a publicly financed "entrepreneur" land developer is hard work, and no one works harder at securing tax payer backing for his projects than Paul McKree. For the past six weeks the Missouri state legislature has been debating a massive tax credit proposal to encourage projects that some say would turn St,Louis into a "China hub" international shipping and trade mecca. For details of this boondoggle read my past post: Will Aerotropolis bring jobs or corporate welfare? Suffice it to say that McKee stand to benefit from this massive "jobs program" passes. This should be no supprise, Paul McKee has received close to $28 million from the state's Distressed Areas Land Assemblage tax credit program and is hungry for more corporate welfare. But there's more than one source of tax payer funding for risky ventures and now the St.Louis Post-Dispatch reports that McKree and his partners in the Northpark business developement are seeking hitting up St. Louis County to help shore up that projects financial problems. Actually, they are hitting up the county again. The group wants to refinance the $14.75 million in bonds and issue $7.5 million more. The bonds are backed by St.Louis County and if the project goes belly up tax payers could be on the hook for the losses. The chances are pretty good that McKree and his buddies will get what they want, they are wealthy, well connected and generous campaign contributers. As Mell Brooks would say, "It's good to be king".

The original OccupySTL facebook page has beenreplaced withOccupy St. Louis. In a scene being repeated in cities across America, a dozen or so tents are pitched in Kiener Plaza in downtown St. Louis. Signs, banners and protesters surround the area. This is the command center for Occupy St. Louis. Inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City, this group of activists first gathered on Oct. 1 and has maintained a presence in downtown ever since. A small group has stayed both night and day, with others coming and going as their schedules allow. Last night a call to action went out; the St. Louis police had suggested that protesters would be ejected from Kiener Plaza at 10pm. When I arrived at 9:45 pm, more than one hundred people had gathered to support the peaceful demonstration. The group held a general assembly to decide how to react if the police did come. Decisions were made by consensus, with all ideas and concerns being considered. This is truly a leaderless movement.

After the plan had been agreed upon, I met Cori, a young man in his twenties, who said he has been there every day since Saturday (Oct. 1), though not continuously; he has a job. Not everyone in Occupy St. Louis is unemployed; those with jobs also feel that the system has failed them and their community.

I asked Cori why he was there. He said he was there because of the concentration of wealth at the top and because the democratic system "is so controlled by money that most of us feel locked out of the process."

It's a common theme at Occupy St. Louis. People are not just frustrated with the economy, they fear that corporate America's influence in politics has perverted the election process. Most Americans have come to accept that money controls politics and there's nothing we can do about it. These Americans are challenging that mentality.

I asked Cori about criticism from the media that protesters haven't released a short list of well defined demands.

"This is just the beginning" he replied, "You can't have a movement where one person stands up and says 'we're going to have a movement and these are our demands'. We have to bring people together first, and then decide, as a group, what we want. I believe in democracy."

This may be the most "radical" aspect of the the OWS movement, the concept that everyone should be heard. Not just the loudest voices or the strongest voices, every voice.

The Occupy Wall Street movement seems to agree on what the problems are. The New York group issued a "Declaration of the Occupation of New York". It contained a list of grievances against Corporate America and the government that they say need to be addressed.

"We're growing" Cori says, "37 countries and 48 states, as of today." Earlier he had seen the presidential procession go by. "They went by really fast."

A few blocks away from the protest, at the Renaissance Grand Hotel, President Obama had been at a political fund raiser. From there he went to a fundraising dinner at the home of Tom Carnahan. The cost of sitting down at the dinner table with President Obama? $25,000.

Like hundreds of other citizens I attended the Occupy St. Louis rally yesterday, and I left with mixed feeling about the movement. Like many, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I knew what I was hoping for: A movement that was pushback against the Tea Party and their pro-corporate agenda. I don't usually write from a personal perspective, but we live in a time when wealth and political power have merged to lock out the majority of Americans, including me, from the democracy that is our birth right; a time when the American dream has become a nightmare, a cruel joke. This was clear as protesters gathered at the Crack Fox for the march; young college students who will be entering an economy that has no use for them, middle age workers who are being pushed out of the middle class because of unemployment, stagnant or falling wages and rising prices. Most were progressives, but many were just frustrated at the system's failure and the inability the political class to act. There were hundreds of us. There were also tea partiers there, supporters of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul. They were working the crowd, trying to convert people to their movement. 'It's a free country' I was thinking. Inside the Crack Fox (a bar on Olive) the event starts with a poetry slam, with poets telling of struggling against corporate oppression. A station is set up for people to make signs, most of them railing against corporate greed, but one reads "Ron Paul 2012". Again I thought 'ok, it's a free country, if you want to advocate destroying the government so that Corporate American can do as it pleases (pollute the rivers, provide unsafe working conditions and sell consumers unsafe products) that's fine, but I don't think that's what the Occupy Wall Street protests are about.' The poetry dragged on a little too long, some of us went outside to escape the cigarette smoke. People were getting antsy. Next came the announcements laying out the ground rules; don't block the street, no violence etc., then the legal advice detailing what your rights are. All necessary stuff for a well organized political action.

Then speeches ensued inside the Crack Fox, and the crowd milling around outside was getting restless. Some joke that the press are probably at the Federal Reserve Building (where the march is to end) and seeing two or three people protesting. I told one of the people who seemed to be one of the organizers that people are getting really restless and the march should probably start before there is too much pent up energy. She replied that no one was really in charge, accept for a young woman and her husband who were running the meeting inside the Crack Fox. I then learned that the woman who had started the OccupySTL facebook page had been in a car accident and others had taken over organizing the protest. As I reported on this blog a few days ago, the OccupySTL facebook listed a list of demands that mirrored the national movement. It called for ending political corruption, ending the death penalty, ending police intimidation and other, mostly progressive, themes. Inside the Crack Fox the couple who are running the meeting are finally wrapping things up. The husband announced that we are marching to the Federal Reserve Building where "they print money that is backed by nothing". 'More Ron Paul crap' I'm thought. For those who don't know, the cult of Ron Paul believes that all our problems would disappear if we return to the "gold standard" and tie the value of our currency to the price of gold. Then he points out that the media have been saying that we don't have an agenda, "If the media asks you what your protesting for, here are our list of demands." He starts going through a list of demands that bore no resemblance to the ones posted on the facebook page, and in fact read like a Ron Paul for president pamphlet, 'balance the budget, pay off the national debt, etc.' It was standard Tea Party rhetoric and a corporate political wish list. When he said "we demand the repeal of the Federal Income Tax" I had heard enough. I went outside where 20 or so protesters were patiently waiting for the march to start. Some of us decided it was time to start. As we started up the street a protester came from the other direction and asked "Where is everyone? About 12 of us have already gathered at the Fed and KMOV(channel 4) just interviewed some of us." And so a small group of us began to march. We called back to the others milling around in front of the Crack Fox to join us, "We have to be patient. We have to wait" they said, to which I shouted back "We've waited long enough." I'll wait for poetry, I'll wait for ground rules and legal advice, but I'll be God damned if I was going to wait so I can be told to say I'm in favor of all the shit that I came to protest against.

So finally the march began, those who came to challenge the corporate strangle hold on wealth and power finally raised their voices. The march and protests proceeded peacefully as the St. Louis police respectfully watched. KMOV ,came back and saw that this was a real protest. As we stood in front of the Federal Reserve building I realized that in a movement with no leaders anyone can pretend to be a leader, anyone can claim ownership. While the Tea Partiers may be part of the 99%, their agenda is to protect the 1%. The overwhelming majority of those at Occupy St. Louis are rejecting that agenda. The guy holding the "Capitalism is a suckers game" sign doesn't want to crush the unions. The protester with a sign that reads "My boss does not need a tax break" doesn't want to cut the corporate tax rate. The crowd chanting "Hey hey, ho ho, corporate greed has got to go" does not think the rich are victims of class warfare. While it's nice to say that this is a movement for everyone, I respectfully suggest that the Tea party movement is incompatible with our goals. More to the point: the Tea Party already has a movement. They have members of congress pushing their cause, they have corporate sponsors, well financed presidential candidates, they have a major TV "news" network dedicated to promote their cause, for craps sake. Their voices have been heard, and for the past few years, their voices are all that we have heard. It's time for the rest of us to be heard. Three years ago the Tea Party harnessed anger over the bailout of the Wall Street fat cats and turned it into a political movement dedicated to allowing those same corporate fat cats to do anything they please to anyone they can. Their agenda is Wall Street's agenda. I don't think they will get away with it this time. Chris Otto

A group calling themselves "OccupySTL" is planning to protest this Saturday morning at the St.Louis Federal Reserve building to show solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protests that have been going on in New York City for almost 2 weeks. If you haven't heard about the NY protests it's not surprising. Thousands of progressive protesters converged on Wall Street on Sept. 17 to protest the concentration of power and wealth in America. The Occupy Wall Street web site states “The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%.” The "occupation" has continued even as the number of activists has diminished. In what activists called a "media blackout", the protests were largely ignored by the news media until protesters started getting arrested a few days into the event. This is true of the St.Louis Post Dispatch, which did not have an online story about the protest until Sept. 20, when 7 protesters were arrested, and so far has not produced an article in the print version of the newspaper. To make matters worse, Yahoo was blocking e-mails containing the Occupy Wall Street web site. Yahoo later admitted it had done so, saying it was an innocent mistake. As of this writing Norton is blocking occupywallst.org. OccupySTL has posted details of the planned protests and a list of "demands" on facebook. To view it click here. The event is listed incorrectly as taking place on Oct. 31, it should read Oct.1. The organizers say they will correct that soon. The list of demands range from ending the death penalty to ending political corruption and ending unemployment. Another demand is ending "police intimidation". The conduct of the New York Police Department has become an issue in the past week as the peaceful protesters have sometimes been treated roughly. In one incident a group of women who had been corralled on the sidewalk were pepper sprayed. In this video you can see that the women were not resisting or being violent. The NYPD says it will investigate the incident. Chris Otto

Governor Jay Nixon has called for a special session of the state legislation to pass what Nixon calls a "comprehensive jobs package". The governor, who spent much of the regular session reminding everyone how broke the state is will now be handing out millions of dollars worth of tax credits and incentives if the legislature approves. Hear are some details of the proposals as reported by the St.Louis Post Dispatch: * The state would spend $3 million more a year to attract amateur sporting events. * Incentives to encourage high tech data warehouses that invest at least $36 million and hire at least 30 people. * The centerpiece the jobs bill would be the so-called "Aerotropolis", a $23O million tax credit plan for companies that arrange international shipments out of Lambert St.Louis International Airport and for companies that build refridgerated warehouses in "gateway zones". Among the sites that may qualify include the abandoned auto plants in Fenton and Hazelwood, large sites in St.Charles County and the Northpark development, which is east of the airport. One of the developers is Paul McKee, a veteran corporate welfare king in St.Louis known best for using close to $28 Million in "Distressed Areas Land Assemblage" tax credits to buy up properties in north St.Louis. In fact, McKee is the only one to ever use that tax credit. It's almost as if the tax credit was designed just for him. Now he may get tax credits to develop some of those properties. While supporters of the Aerotropolis plan, including the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, say the tax credits will transform the region and create tens of thousands of jobs, critics aren't so sure. One sceptict is Greg Lindsay, the author who coined the fraise "aerotropolis". He thinks St.Louis is unlikely to become a major cargo hub. Lindsay was quoted in the St.Louis Post Dispatch saying "Chinese carriers will come until the subsidies run out, then they look again at their balance sheets and pull out. It's really hard to build that critical mass with Chicago and Dallas so close." We hear a lot these days about the "job creators", but once again it's the taxpayers who are being asked to make a risky investment so that private enterprises can reap the rewards, if there are any. This at a time when corporations and the big banks are sitting on massive cash reserves and playing it safe. Maybe "aerotrpolis" will usher in a new age of prosperity for the region, but it seems more likely that it will be an ugly sequil to the "Ballpark Village" fiasco.The plan faces some opposition, even in the business friendly republican controlled legislature. Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, points out that some of the money to pay for the plan will be raised by ending a tax break for senior citizens who rent. Said Crowell, "You're taking from old people and giving to developers."

Activists gathered in front of the downtown branch of Bank of America Friday to protests what they say is that bank's poor record of loan modification and foreclosures. The activists also sought to bring attention to the fact that Bank of America paid no federal taxes last year and receives subsidies and tax breaks that they say "are causing budget deficits and cuts in vital services." Will Taylor, a member of Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment(MORE), said “We always talk about Robin Hood, who stole from the rich to give to the poor. Bank of America is Hood Robbin’, stealing from the poor and giving to the rich.” Taylor and others had hoped to close accounts at the bank as part of the action. Damien Johnson of the Examiner.com reports that activists were prevented from entering the bank to close accounts. Watch the video here. Instead they pledged to do so in the future, many holding signs reading "Tax the Greedy, not the Needy", "Stop attacking working families" and "Tax day, make them pay".

The protest was part of "Midwest Rising:Convergence 2011", a five day gathering of progressive activists groups form around the Midwest. The goal of the convergence is to bring together activists, from environmentalists to grass roots low income community groups to present a united front against corporate influence in the political system. Midwest Rising says 400 people from 50 different organizations will participate. Their web site says "Climate justice and social justice activists are coming together to fight back against corporate power." The "convergence" started Thursday and will continue until Monday and includes a curriculum of workshops on organizing skills, presentations and discussions. The event is being held at the JC Penny Center at UMCL, in St.Louis.

The protest was billed by "MORE" as the Bank of America pullout. Organizers say Bank of America is foreclosing on hundreds of families without following proper procedures. Bank of America temporarily suspended foreclosures last year when it was found to have falsified documents in some foreclosures. The group has three requests for Bank of America: an immediate moratorium on foreclosures, a reduction in principal on all underwater mortgages and payment of its fair share of taxes.